A senior master at one of Britain’s most famous public schools has
been arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage former girl pupil.

Dr Dean Johnson, 48, who is married with children, has now quit his
post as physics teacher at elite Charterhouse School in Surrey.

In a letter to parents, the £31,680-a-year school said Dr Johnson has
left amid allegations of an “inappropriate relationship” with an ex
sixth-former.

The letter sent to parents of children at Charterhouse School informing
them about a teacher who allegedly had an inappropriate relationship
with a pupil

She is thought to be aged around 18 and no longer a pupil at Charterhouse, which is based at Godalming in Surrey.

Dr Johnson, who was a Physics master at the school for 12 years, was detained in Godalming by police on April 12.

He lived in a £500,000 house in the town which was owned and supplied
by the school, whose famous former pupils include broadcasters David
and Jonathan Dimbleby.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said: “A 48-year-old man is currently
on conditional bail in relation to an allegation of a serious sexual
offence at an address in Godalming.

“He is due to report back to Guildford Police Station on 16 July 2013.”

A police source confirmed that the ‘serious sexual offence allegation’ was rape.

A Charterhouse spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that a teacher has
resigned from the school following serious concerns regarding
allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

“It would be improper to say anything further.”

Parents say they were told this week that Dr Johnson has resigned because of ‘an inappropriate relationship’.

But the letter from Headmaster The Reverend John Witheridge makes no mention of his arrest.

It reads: “I write to inform you that Dr. Dean Johnson (Physics) has
resigned after the school was made aware of serious concerns about the
existence of an inappropriate relationship with a former sixth-form
girl.

Charterhouse School in Surrey where a senior master allegedly raped a teenage former pupil

“I am sure you will understand that I am unable to go into any further detail.

“Arrangements are being made to cover Dean’s teaching and other duties.

“If you have any concerns, do please let me know, and I will do my best to answer them if I can.”

Dr. Johnson appears to have advertised himself as a private tutor,
charging between £25 and £40 an hour for lessons in Physics, Astronomy
and Astrophysics to GCSE, A-level and university standard.

On the ‘A+ Tutors’ website for the Surrey area an entry in his name
says: “Physics Master at Charterhouse school for 12 years, Oxford and
Cambridge graduate in Astrophysics.

“I am one of the best Physics tutors you will ever get!”

Charterhouse describes itself as ‘one of the leading independent schools in the world’ and has over 400 years of history.

It is predominantly a boarding school with around 800 pupils, taking boys from 13 and girls in the Sixth Form.

A teacher at one of Britain’s top public schools has been arrested on suspicion of raping a former pupil.

Dr
Dean Johnson, a physics master at Charterhouse in Surrey, has been
forced to leave the £31,680-a-year boarding school following the alleged
incident.

The divorced father-of-three, who was educated at Oxford and Cambridge, was held by police on April 12.

The letter sent to parents of children at Charterhouse School informing
them about a teacher who had an inappropriate relationship with a former
pupil

He has taught at the prestigious school for 12 years and was well-liked among students and teachers.

The victim is understood to be a graduate in her 20s, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

According
to two former pupils who knew her, Dr Johnson and the girl had been
involved in a secret relationship since her first year of sixth form –
when she was 16.

One of them, who didn’t wish to be identified, said: ‘She was quite quiet and was involved in societies he ran.’

Dr
Johnson, 48, who specialises in astronomy and astrophysics, lived in a
£500,000 house owned by the Godalming school. He also advertised his
services as a private tutor outside of school hours.

The
master – who was known to staff and pupils as ‘Deano’ – would regularly
stay after school hours with pupils from his school-house until 10pm,
helping them with homework and after-school activities.

His alleged victim was one of the pupils he would supervise.

A letter from the headmaster of the school, Reverend John Witheridge, was sent to parents last weekend.

The teacher has since resigned from his post at the exclusive Charterhouse School in Godalming

It read: ‘I write to inform you that
Dr Dean Johnson (Physics) has resigned after the school was made aware
of serious concerns about the existence of an inappropriate relationship
with a former sixth-form girl.

‘I
am sure you will understand that I am unable to go into any further
detail.’ It continues: ‘If you have concerns, do please let me know, and
I will do my best to answer them if I can.’

A school spokesman said it would be ‘improper’ to give any further comment.

A
police spokesman said: ‘A 48-year-old man is currently on conditional
bail in relation to an allegation of a serious sexual offence at an
address in Godalming. He is due to report back to Guildford Police
Station on July 16, 2013.’

Charterhouse,
whose motto is ‘Because God has given I give’, counts broadcaster
David Dimbleby, Genesis founder members Peter Gabriel and Mike
Rutherford, and Robert Baden-Powell among its alumni.

In
March last year, the school was at the centre of a police inquiry after
a boy was arrested on suspicion of filming naked pupils.

The 16-year-old was said to have captured ‘indecent images’ in a video which was allegedly stored on his computer.

In
2010, Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker criticised the school for
failing to get his son George a place at his chosen university.

Charterhouse was originally built over 68 acres where 120 boys were taught in three boarding houses.

Today it spreads over 200 acres, has 795 pupils and girls are allowed in the sixth form.

A senior master at Charterhouse, one of Britain's most prestigious public
schools, has been arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage former girl
pupil.

Charterhouse, one of Britain's most prestigious public schools Photo: Alamy

11:25AM BST 19 Apr 2013

Dr Dean Johnson, 48, who is married with children, has now left his post as
physics teacher at Charterhouse School in Surrey.

In a letter to parents, the £31,680-a-year school said Dr Johnson has left
amid allegations of an "inappropriate relationship" with an ex sixth-former.

She is thought to be aged around 18 and no longer a pupil at Charterhouse,
which is based at Godalming in Surrey.

Dr Johnson, who was a physics master at the school for 12 years, was detained
in Godalming by police on April 12.

He lived in a £500,000 house in the town which was owned and supplied by the
school, whose famous former pupils include broadcasters David and Jonathan
Dimbleby.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said: "A 48-year-old man is currently on
conditional bail in relation to an allegation of a serious sexual offence at
an address in Godalming.

"He is due to report back to Guildford Police Station on 16 July 2013."

A police source confirmed that the "serious sexual offence allegation" was
rape.

A Charterhouse spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a teacher has resigned
from the school following serious concerns regarding allegations of
inappropriate behaviour.

"It would be improper to say anything further."

Parents say they were told this week that Dr Johnson has resigned because of
"an inappropriate relationship". The letter from headmaster Rev John
Witheridge makes no references to the arrest.

It reads: "I write to inform you that Dr. Dean Johnson (Physics) has resigned
after the school was made aware of serious concerns about the existence of
an inappropriate relationship with a former sixth-form girl.

"I am sure you will understand that I am unable to go into any further detail.

"Arrangements are being made to cover Dean's teaching and other duties.

"If you have any concerns, do please let me know, and I will do my best to
answer them if I can."

Dr Johnson appears to have advertised himself as a private tutor, charging
between £25 and £40 an hour for lessons in Physics, Astronomy and
Astrophysics to GCSE, A-level and university standard.

On the 'A+ Tutors' website for the Surrey area an entry in his name says:
"Physics Master at Charterhouse school for 12 years, Oxford and Cambridge
graduate in Astrophysics.

"I am one of the best Physics tutors you will ever get!"

Charterhouse is 400 years old and is recognised as one of the most successful
schools in Britain. It is predominantly a boarding school with around 800
pupils, taking boys from 13 and girls in the Sixth Form.

A senior master at one of Britain’s most famous public schools has
been arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage former girl pupil.

Dean Johnson, 48, who is married with children, has now quit his post as physics teacher at Charterhouse School, Surrey.

In a letter to parents, the £31,680-a-year school said that Dr
Johnson, who was a master there for 12 years, had left amid allegations
of an “inappropriate relationship with a former sixth-form girl”. (more)